Phillies Nation

Phillies Nation’s winner for the number one Philadelphia Phillies Top Moment of 2011 is … (drum roll, please) … The 19 inning marathon against the Cincinnati Reds!

This may not come as a surprise.  We remember staying up late, refusing to turn off the television.  We remember it being one of the oddest games of recent memory. We remember Wilson Valdez taking the mound in the 19th inning and retiring the meat of the Reds’ lineup.  We remember it being one entirely awesome game.

I’ll be honest: there are some things that I forgot.  It was practically two games in one: 6 hours and 11 minutes of insanity.  With the game occurring last May, many things have exited my brain.  I thought that I’d test your knowledge in a few trivia questions:

1. Who were the starting pitchers?
2. Which Phillies homered?
3. How did the Phillies score the winning run?

No cheating. The answers are after the jump.

Continue reading Top Moment #1: Nineteen Innings of Madness

Source: REUTERS / Tim Shaffer

As the snow melts, the waiting is almost over. When pitchers and catchers report, there’s a little relief as baseball withdrawal is put on hold, but nothing is like the return of meaningful games. Anticipation and excitement build up as Opening Day approaches. A new year means new hopes, dreams, and memories. For a baseball fan, Opening Day is more than the beginning of a new season; it’s one of the best “holidays” out there.

The words “cold,” “rain,” and “losing” have been associated with Opening Day through the years. Win or lose, it’s great to have baseball back again.

2011′s first game resulted in a victory as the Phillies opened the season with a bang, indicating that there were many more great moments to come.

Continue reading Top Moment #2: Mayberry Opens Season with Walk-off Single

AP Photo | Matt Slocum

Cliff Lee had a fabulous month of August, going 5-0 with a 0.45 earned run average. He had a 0.78 WHIP and opponents batted .173 against him. Pretty impressive numbers, right? But guess what is even more scary? That wasn’t even his best month of the 2011 season. While Lee had an unbelievable August, his month of June was even more incredible.

Continue reading Top Moment #3: Lee’s Flawless Month of June

Charlie Manuel is a big reason the Phillies won 102 games

In the last couple of years, the last day of the season was somewhat meaningless. By that time, the Phillies already clinched the division and September callups saw much of the action.

2011 was a tad different. The division was already clinched, but the Phillies were playing for something else: history. And as it turned out, Game 162 was pretty intense too.

Looking back, the 4-3 win may not have been the best thing. The Phillies finished off the collapse of the Atlanta Braves by eliminating them from the postseason. This changed the playoff schedule as the Phillies were forced to play the St. Louis Cardinals, a red-hot team, in the first round of the playoffs. As we all know, this did not benefit the Phillies, but there is still reason why the 102nd win is a great moment.

Continue reading Top Moment #4: Win 102

Photo: Jeff Roberson, AP

One moment can define a career for a player, especially if it happens in October. Ben Francisco had one of those career defining moments in the third game of the National League Division Series.

Continue reading Top Moment #5: Ben Francisco’s Moment of Clutch

It came as a surprise when it was revealed that the Phillies were the "mystery team."

This top moment technically happened in 2010, but since it occurred during the offseason and was not part of our 2010 Top Moment series, we will include it in the 2011 edition.

I remember December 14 and 15 clearly.  I was up late reviewing for finals, and because I am so “studious,” I somehow missed all the rumors of a mystery team landing Cliff Lee.

At 6:45 a.m the next morning, I woke up angrily to the sound of my phone ringing.  Who could be calling at this hour, and is it really that important?  Oh, it was important alright.  My rage quickly turned into excitement when the person on the other line screamed: “THE PHILLIES GOT CLIFF LEE!”

Continue reading Top Moments #6: Welcome Back Cliff Lee

146 games: that’s all it took for the Phillies to advance to the postseason. The 2011 Phillies became the fastest team in franchise history to clinch a postseason spot. The 1915 Phillies, who lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series, clinched the playoffs in 147 games.

Advancing to the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year was a special moment, but the game in which it occurred was also something to remember.

Continue reading Top Moment #7: Halladay’s Shutout Clinches Playoffs

Celebration never gets old (Photo by M. Kennedy)

Continued Success! With a 9-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phillies clinched the National League East for the fifth year in a row.

Raul Ibanez smacked a grand slam and Roy Oswalt pitched a masterpiece to help the Phillies get to the champagne-popping moment.

Unlike recent years, the Phillies clinched the NL East early.  There was a different feeling than years prior: no ninth-inning jitters on the last day of the season, nor a fear of a collapse.  Every Phillies fan knew the Phillies were going to clinch; the only question was “when?”.

Continue reading Top Moment #8: Phillies Clinch NL East

Photo: Philly.com (Ben Margot/AP)

July is a crazy month for baseball.  With the trade deadline at the end of the month, hundreds of rumors and potential trade scenarios are revealed.  With all the transactions and rumors, the end of July is sure to spark a lot of debate.

Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals in the 2010-2011 offseason, leaving a gap in right field for the Phillies.  Ruben Amaro didn’t fill the void, giving Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown an opportunity.  However, it wasn’t enough as the Phillies were struggling to produce runs.

Continue reading Top Moment #9: Addition of Hunter Pence

Photo: AP

For several years in recent history, the Phillies were known for their offense rather than their pitching.  The Phillies were in the top ten in runs scored from 2004-2010.  For the first time since 2003, the Phillies did not end up as one of MLB’s top ten run-producing teams.

For a change, the Phillies were known for their pitching rather than their offense.  So when the 2011 Phillies found themselves in a 5-0 deficit, they were less likely to comeback than they were in 2007, for example.  Just because they were less likely doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Continue reading Top Moment #10: Comeback in Los Angeles